1902 Gifted Watch & 1904 Roosevelt-signed Photo
Watch
GUEST:
It's a signed photograph from Theodore Roosevelt, and signed by himself and all of his sons. Theodore was cousin to my grandfather's first wife, who died at a young age, and I inherited it through my father's side of the family.
APPRAISER:
And what was her name?
GUEST:
Her name was Christine Kean Roosevelt.
APPRAISER:
And what else do you know about her?
GUEST:
I have several photographs of her. She was obviously very attractive, a very small lady. She was introduced to society in New York, along with her cousins and friends. After marriage, my grandfather was posted to Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia. She developed pernicious anemia.
APPRAISER:
Oh, my gosh.
GUEST:
And died. My grandfather retained all of her possessions and they've been passed down through the family.
APPRAISER:
You've brought a photograph and a watch.
GUEST:
A watch.
APPRAISER:
And she is a really, a remarkable figure. She was a debutante the season of 1902, which was famous because five Roosevelt cousins came out that year, including Alice Roosevelt, Theodore's oldest daughter, and Eleanor Roosevelt. You've got a photograph of Theodore and the four sons, which are Theodore, Jr., Archibald, Quentin, and Kermit, and it's taken in 1904. They're all seated together on the couch, and each of them has signed. So Theodore is here, in the center, and here's Theodore, Jr., and this is Archie, and that's Quentin, and there's Kermit in there. And what we love about this one, you pointed this out to me earlier, is that Quentin messed up and scratched out and tried it over. He was very little, he was only six years old. The other signature here is that of the photographer, who has signed and then dated it 1904. And you also have this lovely pocket watch, which was a gift, you said…
GUEST:
It was a gift.
APPRAISER:
…from Theodore to Christine. And it has her initials engraved on the outside, and if we take it off and look inside, in the back, there's an actual presentation inscription to her from Theodore and his wife, Edith. So this is a really lovely group of items. Have you ever had this material appraised before?
GUEST:
I have never had anyone even look at the watch before other than a jeweler to open it, so I could see what was inside. I had the photograph, I sent a scan to a fellow online who was auctioning off historic photographs. He said he thought it would bring between $6,000 and $8,000 at auction, and then he said, "But I know a collector, and I'll buy it from you for $8,500."
APPRAISER:
And you did not do that.
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
I've learned from watching the ROADSHOW.
APPRAISER:
Okay, I'm glad you didn't do that. That's perhaps not best practices. It's not very hard to find a signed photograph of Theodore Roosevelt-- he was president, he was a public figure for many years. And if you were just to find a small-format signed photograph of him, it wouldn't cost you very much money. You might spend between $800 on the low to $3,000 or $4,000 on the high end. What I like about this one is that it's Roosevelt and the sons. And when I looked back through the auction records, I really found only one comparable record from more than 20 years ago. So it's very rare to find the family photograph with signatures of the children, as well as the father. I would say that at auction, I would list it between $10,000 and $15,000. It certainly could do much, much better. Some of the larger-format photographs of Roosevelt have sold in the $20,000 range. The watch is by American Waltham. It's a 14-karat-gold pocket watch. By itself, it's probably a $300 watch, but with the association, we would list it at $1,000 to $1,500.
GUEST:
Wonderful.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, so all together, at least $11,000 worth of property.
GUEST:
That's great, thank you. It won't be sold.
APPRAISER:
It won't be sold?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Fantastic.
GUEST:
It'll stay in the family.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
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